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Unit 7: Intelligence Testing

Lesson 2: Lippmann vs. The Testers: Can Intelligence Be Measured?

Grades

  • 11-12

Subjects

  • Civics
  • History
  • Social Studies

Overview of Lesson Plan

  • Walter Lippmann was an influential political commentator and journalist of the early 1900s. In 1913, Lippmann co-founded The New Republic magazine. Writing for this publication, Lippman challenged the idea and practice of standardized testing, addressing issues such as the effects of experience, education, and heredity on test scores.

    Lippmann dismissed the claim that IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests had any scientific foundation and predicted that these instruments would be dangerous. Writing in 1922, Lippmann proclaimed, “One only has to read around in the literature of the subject…to see how easily the intelligence test can be turned into an engine of cruelty, how easily the hands of blundering or prejudiced men it could turn into a method of stamping a permanent sense of inferiority upon the soul of a child.”

    Lippmann had many criticisms of testing and the beliefs surrounding the testing movement. For instance, he pointed out that “intelligence” was being measured without even having been defined by testers.

    Lippmann’s articles on testing continue to be valued today not merely because he was a gifted writer and outspoken critic, but because to many he was ahead of his time in his understanding of the prejudice and ignorance that drove the testing and “IQ” movement of the time.

    In this lesson, students will review a series of Lippmann’s columns from The New Republic in which the columnist challenges the work of Terman and others.

Standards

  • 1. Analyze how science and technology influence the core values, beliefs, and attitudes of society and how core values, beliefs, and attitudes of society shape scientific and technological change.
    2. Analyze, evaluate, and apply information about selected public issues, evaluating multiple points of view.
    3. Analyze and evaluate the influence of various forms of citizen action on public policy.
    4. Construct an action plan to achieve one or more goals related to an issue of public concern.

Objectives

  • 1. To investigate the origins of standardized testing. 2. To understand some of the beliefs behind the standardized testing movement. 3. To explain common criticisms of standardized testing and IQ testing, in particular. 4. To explore how “science” can be used and misused to develop public policy and influence public opinion.

Questions to Consider

  • 1. Why has standardized testing persisted for 100 years?  What social or cultural factors have influenced its popularity?
  • 2. In what ways does standardized testing serve the same purposes today as in the early 20th century?  In what ways does it serve different purposes?
  • 3. In what ways can citizens of a democracy respond to the misuse of science and how can they influence public policy on issues of concern to them?

Resources and Materials

Activities and Procedures

  • 1. Class Discussion: Explain to students the meaning of the phrase “standardized testing” and have them share examples of it (e.g., IQ tests, state graduation tests, SAT, PSAT, ACT).  Wikipedia’s definition and history of standardized tests may be useful here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standardized_testing.
    Then have students sit in a circle and discuss their experiences with and perceptions of standardized tests:
    • a) What are your experiences with standardized testing? IQ testing?
    • b) Which students have an advantage in taking these tests? Which students have a disadvantage?
    • c) What factors might influence performance in these tests (e.g., hunger, how much sleep you had, how much experience you have taking tests, how nervous you get)?
    • d) Why might it be difficult to measure a something as abstract as “intelligence” with a test?
  • 2. Group and Class Discussion: Break students into six equal groups and assign each group one of Lippman’s articles to read. After all the students finish reading, give each group a piece of newsprint and have them discuss Lippmann’s problems with the tests. On each sheet of paper, students should write the word “CRITICISMS.”  Students should then list all of the criticisms of testing Lippmann outlines.
    Have students post their papers around the room and beginning with the group response for the “The Mystery of the ‘A’ Men” and continuing in chronological order of publication, students should share a summary of their article, focusing on the main criticisms of testing Lippmann outlines.
    After each group has presented, have students discuss the following questions:
    • a) In the article, “The Future for the Tests,” Lippmann wrote, “Gradually under the impact of criticism, the claim will be abandoned that a device has been invented for measuring naïve intelligence…. The ability of a twelve-year-old child to define pity or justice and to say what lesson the story of the fox and the crow ‘teaches’ may be a measure of his total education, but it is no measure of the value or capacity of his germplasm.” Has “the claim” indeed been abandoned?
    • b) What would Lippmann say about the use of standardized and IQ testing today?
  • 3. Group Discussion: Break the class into small groups. Give every group an IQ test to examine (ask the school psychologist or searched the Internet). If you need to use the internet, a simple search will locate several options.  Here are some links.
  • 3a. Ask students to critique the test based on Lippmann’s articles and their own learnings. They should answer the following questions:
    • a) What is the test supposed to “measure”? What does the test measure?
    • b) What conditions or experiences might help someone succeed on or struggle with such a test?
    • c) What decisions might be made based on the outcome of such a test?
    • d) What are some potential problems of the test?
  • 4. Group Discussion: Break students into small groups and have them work on a “consciousness raising” letter campaign. Explain to students that in their study of testing they have been engaged in a sort of consciousness raising which is the process of exploring patterns of stereotypes, myths, beliefs, expectations, and social structures. Consciousness raising is also the process by which people begin to understand the relationships between their own stories and the stories or experiences of others.
    First groups should move into a small circle and discuss the learnings from the lesson. Then ask them to talk about how testing affects students in their school and community. Remind them to consider how these tests affect all learners including those who use English as a second language, those with disabilities, and those with learning or reading difficulties. Finally, ask them to discuss how they might share what they have learned with others.
    Then ask each student in the class to write a “consciousness raising” letter to a person or group involved in testing. Each student can choose where to send the letter. The letter might include some information on the history of testing, the author’s views on the use of testing in schools, or the individual’s feelings on being tested. Suggested recipients of letters include:
    • a) State lawmakers
    • b) U.S. Senators and Members of Congress
    • c) ETS (Educational Testing Service)
    • d) Test preparation services (e.g., Kaplan)
    • e) A student’s own IEP (Individual Education Plan) team
    • f) School administrators

Eras

  • 1866-1920
  • 1921-1960

Disability

  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Intellectual Disabilities
  • Mental Retardation

Topics

  • Intelligence
  • IQ Testing

Copyright

  • ©Syracuse University, 2006.  All rights reserved.

Author(s)

  • Paula Kluth, Ph.D.

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Copyright © Syracuse University 2004. All Rights Reserved.